VIZ Media has signed a strategic partnership with The Gotham Group to develop film and television adaptations based on its growing portfolio of original intellectual property, including its acclaimed VIZ Originals graphic novel line and the globally recognized RWBY franchise.
The collaboration marks a significant expansion of VIZ Media’s entertainment business, bringing its creator-driven stories to the screen through one of Hollywood’s leading production and management companies. VIZ is the #1 destination for manga in America and home to some of the most prestigious anime brands driving the industry, including One Piece, Demon Slayer, Naruto, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Under the agreement, The Gotham Group—whose credits include Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Search for WondLa, Washington Black, the Maze Runner franchise and the Bruce Springsteen feature Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere—will identify and package projects drawn from VIZ Media’s expanding library of original IP.
At the heart of the collaboration is RWBY, the landmark animated franchise created by the late Monty Oum. Since its debut in 2013, RWBY has become one of the world’s most successful independently created animation properties, amassing more than 350 million views globally while expanding into publishing, video games, consumer products and multiple spinoffs, including RWBY: Ice Queendom and two Justice League x RWBY animated crossover films.
Widely recognized as the first anime series produced in the United States—and the first Western-produced anime to be dubbed and distributed in Japan—RWBY helped pave the way for a new generation of globally developed anime-inspired storytelling.
The deal also includes VIZ Originals, VIZ Media’s original manga imprint. Featuring works from acclaimed creators Rem and Bikkuri (Devil’s Candy), bestselling author Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl), best-selling Eisner nominee Sam Sattin (Lynx), and globally renowned artist Acky Bright (Galaxic Baseball League) among many others, VIZ Originals continues to champion the next generation of international storytellers shaping the future of manga
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Source: Graphic Policy
